Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Best Practices for Self-Publishers

Digital self-publishing has been an exciting development for writers. We’re able to connect with readers without worrying about the cost or logistics of distribution. We have complete control over our pricing and product. This is an industry that’s changing quickly,but the best practices for self-publishers remain the same:

Take our time. Strong writing will be our book’s best advertisement. Beta readers can help us determine any weak spots. If you need more information on a writing-craft topic, the free Writer’s Knowledge Base search engine can help you learn more about plotting, characterization, pacing, and more.

Have our book professionally edited. Beta readers are helpful, but nothing beats a good editor. Consider getting a professional cover designer. Unless we have talent, time, and a good image manipulation software, a designer is worth the money and will help attract readers to our books. The free Ebook Services Directory is a good place to start, if you’re looking for a professional to help you with your book.

Upload the ebook to every format available (and, later, print and audio, if the book enjoys good sales). Although Amazon’s Kindle remains the most popular, don’t forget to upload your files to Barnes & Noble. Uploading a file to Smashwords ensures that your ebook is distributed to multiple types of e-readers. If your book connects with readers and shows strong sales, consider moving into print, using a service like CreateSpace. Now audio is also available to self-publishers, through the distributor ACX.Find a social media platform that we enjoy most and build a community there. It’s important not to spam potential readers…instead, we should develop relationships online and support others.

Play with pricing. Opinions on the “right” price for ebooks changes frequently, but running our own
experiments can help us sell books and increase our visibility on online retailer sites.

Write the next book. Ultimately, moving on to our next book is the most helpful thing to do. Not only does having more books ensure more visibility and help promote discoverability by readers, but it helps us improve.

Elizabeth - Thanks very much for that advice. I couldn't possibly agree more about ensuring that the e-book has a professional look about it. It's so annoying to read a book if it's got all sorts of formatting and other issues, to say nothing of a 'clunky' cover design. And absolutely, it's important to move on to the next book...

Thanks Alex and team for this Guest post. And Congrats Elizabeth for being honored here as the first Guest post. Yes, digital self-publishing is here to stay. A great info. for the writers who wants to do self publishing. Thanks Elizabeth for sharing these info.Keep informedBestPhil

I self published an ebook - a collection of flash fiction, most of it previously published - as an experiment, and I really enjoyed the process. Working with a professional cover designer was a lot of fun, and I was thrilled with the result. :)

Sandra--I think it's tough for most writers to promote...not really in line with our personality types. But choosing a social medium that you like better than the other choices can help make it easier. Thanks for coming by!

J.L.--I totally understand that...believe me, I was a total offender with that, too. I'd say, cut back on social media for a set amount of time to work in time to upload to more publishing platforms...because the pub platforms are definitely money makers.

I have most of these underway as we speak... and I'll be working on getting the others going. Finding a social media platform sounds straightforward... like Facebook or Twitter or blogs or forums... But I want to go even further.

"Write the next book." That's what I'm taking from this. I need to set my butt down and just do it already!

Thanks! I'd love a list of trustworthy editors. This post comes at a great time for me, a time when I've just begun researching self-publishing after becoming incredibly excited about it. I was thinking I needed two books ready to go before publishing a first, since I am slower at writing, but maybe that's not necessary, just a goal I set for myself. So much to learn yet! Christy

DWei --You'd be surprised, actually--there is a true range of prices out there.

David--Good luck with the next one. And starting up on social media is easy...until you get into it and start developing relationships on the different platforms. So it's one of those things that isn't as time-consuming at first as it becomes later.

Erica and christy--I think it's okay, either way--although I'd lean toward getting the first book out there.